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FUN Resource Guide

Enjoy all that UNI and the surrounding community have to offer. Have a great time participating in campus and community activities. This will help you feel at home at UNI and just enjoy life!

Think of this resource guide as an assistant for you to get all that you can out of life in your room, your house, your hall, the Cedar Valley and the region.

Included in this resource guide are the following:

Please read on and learn how not only you, but all individuals with whom you come in contact may have FUN while at UNI!!

GENERAL PROGRAM ORGANIZATION

A Process That Can Help: APPPE

The APPPE process is a quick and simple look at how to organize a successful programs.

Assess Purpose Plan Promote Evaluate

ASSESS! -To help you know what your residents want and need and to find out what resources are available, here are some possibilities:
-Use a survey
-Inquire about how life is going. Ask about their dreams, frustrations and interests
-Observe what they spend their time on
- Pay attention to their complaints and topics of discussion

-Suggest things and see what their reactions are

-Ask an expert: Your Residence Life Coordinator or a Resident Assistant

-Consider your own interests and needs, since you have a lot in common with your residents

PURPOSE! -To give you a clear direction for a program, clearly determine what that program’s purpose is:

-Ask yourself... "What am I trying to accomplish for participants (and myself) through this program?"

-Make this answer the guiding force in how you organize and publicize your program

PLAN! -Once you know the purpose, use this process to help you pull all the details together, in the right order:

-Create a mental picture of your program: Who will be there? Where is there? When (date, day, time, for how long)? What will be happening?

-If you plan your program at an academic building, all weekend uses of academic spaces need to be reserved through Bill McKinley. You can contact University Police to arrange for access to an academic space, and you may need to get a key from the Registrar’s Office

-Use a REVERSE TIMELINE to plan the details

-Start with the moment your program will end and work your way backward
-Figure out when you need to arrange for people, places, props, etc. (an hr before, a day before, a week earlier...)

-Write notes to yourself on your calendar on the days and times it makes sense to attend to the details

-Follow your plan, just as you laid it out, to make your vision come true.

PROMOTE! –Make all of your hard work to organize a program pay off, promote it and they will come!

-Believe in the value of what you are putting together!

-Involve your residents in the planning of your programs, so they will promote with you

-Start announcements about two weeks before your event

-Build on that with (1) creativity and (2) frequency and (3) personal contacts

-Knock on doors at the last minute

-Start early and keep up the promotion, right to the moment the event begins

-Tell those in attendance about your next program!

EVALUATE! –Evaluate what happened and how it went so you can learn from it and be smarter for the next program.

-Create a program evaluation to ask for feedback from participants

-Reflect on how close you came to fulfilling the purpose you intended and consider what you learned

-Practice. Learn from your mistakes. Practice some more. You'll eventually get to be a whiz at planning programs

-Good luck!

ORGANIZING HOUSE PROGRAMS

There are many things that you will want to think about when organizing a house program; however, do not let this thought process ruin what is important – having FUN!! Thus, follow these simple suggestions as a guide.

1. Think about what you would like to do based on things you have seen or things you like to do. If you are interested in the program, you will enthusiastically press on no matter what the problems are that may arise! To see additional ideas that have been done on campus already, be sure to click on the Programming link under CommUNIty.

2. Talk to your RA. Check with them to make sure that the date and time that you would like to hold the program does not conflict with something else going on in the house or hall. This will also allow a chance for you to work with your RA, if you wish!

3. Make all the pre-arrangements. If this is something that does not take a great deal of set up – great! However, think through everything early. It is like writing for the newspaper:

a. Who would you like to attend? Do not exclude anyone; however, don’t also assume that everyone will participate. Also, make sure that you advertise your program. A simple sign may not work – consider e-mail, facebook, a chalk outline on the floor with the program information on the inside. Think about what would make you stop and take a look, then do it!

b. When will it be? You also answered this in the second step.

c. Where will it be? Do you need to reserve this spot through anyone?

d. What will it be? What supplies or services do you need to make it complete? Also, where will the funds come from for this venture? If you need food, please give first consideration to the dining center. You may contact your respective dining manager or Carol Fletcher in the Department of Residence for assistance with any dining center food. Also, each house gets one free meal per semester from the dining center; thus, when you talk to your RA, ask them if you could possibly use it for this program! Options go from nachos and ice cream sundaes all the way up to steak dinners!

e. Why? This may seem unimportant, but it is good to think about; however, the answer may just be – TO HAVE FUN!

4. On the day of the program, just go through one final check to make sure that everything is ready.

5. The program is here – enjoy it! Make sure that you have assistance with the program so that you don’t need to do everything and end up not having any fun yourself.

6. After you are done, make sure that you clean up any messes that may have been caused by the program. Then evaluate what you have done, give yourself a pat on the back, and consider writing the program up for a Panther Pride Award!

ORGANIZING HOUSE ENHANCEMENTS

While this may be a funny term, enhancements means bathroom quotes, signs, bulletin boards, fun recognition items, or anything else that adds a sense of fun to your house. This may not be as involved as setting up a program; however, it is both important to be prepared, but also have fun while you are going about this! Thus, things to think about are as follows:

1. Think about what you would like to do. Some houses have designated bathroom decorating representatives or birthday representatives. If this is something you are interested in doing, talk to your RA and you may have a designated role for the whole year! However, if that seems like too large an undertaking, feel free to offer to do it on a one-time only basis. Also, the website has tons of ideas down the left hand side of the website from bulletin board ideas to recognition notes. Use this website repeatedly to get ideas! Also, websites like www.residentassistant.com and www.reslife.com are excellent resources as well.

2. Talk to your RA. Check with them to make sure that will not conflict with something else that is being done. Also, if you are questioning whether something may be appropriate to put up in the house, your RA or Residence Life Coordinator is a good reference point and is familiar with the policies and procedures associated with posting things in a public area.

3. Complete the house enhancement. Be prepared to take it down when it has either run its course or if by some chance it was vandalized and needs to be removed.

4. Evaluate what you have done and consider what worked well and what you would do differently. Pass this feedback on to your RA for their future enhancements!

ORGANIZING ALL-HALL PROGRAMS

While you may be thinking that organizing an all-hall program is far too much work, you would be surprised at how similar it is to organizing a house program. It is just on a slightly grander scale. Thus, read on for the “How-To” of an all-hall program.

1. Think about what you would like to do based on things you have seen or things you like to do. If you are interested in the program, you will enthusiastically press on no matter what the problems are that may arise! To see additional ideas that have been done on campus already, be sure to click on the rogramming link under CommUNIty

2. Talk to your Residence Life Coordinator. Check with them to make sure that the date and time that you would like to hold the program does not conflict with something else going on in the building. This will also allow a chance for you to work with your Residence Life Coordinator, if you wish!

3. Make all the pre-arrangements. If this is something that does not take a great deal of set up – great! However, think through everything early. It is like writing for the newspaper:

a. Who would you like to attend? Do not exclude anyone; however, don’t also assume that everyone will participate. Also, make sure that you advertise your program. A simple sign may not work – consider e-mail, facebook, a chalk outline on the floor with the program information on the inside. Think about what would make you stop and take a look, then do it!

b. When will it be? You also answered this in the second step.

c. Where will it be? Do you need to reserve this spot through anyone?

d. What will it be? What supplies or services do you need to make it complete? Also, where will the funds come from for this venture? If you need food, please give first consideration to the dining center. You may contact your respective dining manager or Carol Fletcher in the Department of Residence for assistance with any dining center food. Also, each hall gets one free meal per semester from the dining center; thus, when you talk to your Residence Life Coordinator, ask them if you could possibly use it for this program! Options go from nachos and ice cream sundaes all the way up to steak dinners!

e. Why? This may seem unimportant, but it is good to think about; however, the answer may just be – TO HAVE FUN!

4. On the day of the program, just go through one final check to make sure that everything is ready.

5. The program is here – enjoy it! Make sure that you have assistance with the program so that you don’t need to do everything and end up not having any fun yourself.

6. After you are done, make sure that you clean up any messes that may have been caused by the program. Then evaluate what you have done, give yourself a pat on the back, and

consider writing the program up for a Panther Pride Award!

ORGANIZING ON CAMPUS PROGRAMS

On-campus programs utilize what is already going on around the UNI campus and organizing groups to attend. This can be one of the easiest programs to plan and is what was always considered a 90%er program. This means that someone else has done 90% of the work, but that does not mean that there still isn’t work to do. Thus, follow these easy steps:

1. Think about what you would like to attend on campus. This can be things like plays, athletic events, the WRC, speakers, etc. To get a full calendar of things going on, use the following link: https://access.uni.edu/acal/ However, you may also need to use other parts of the UNI website (like the WRC schedule) to check times and availability.

2. Call or e-mail the sponsoring organization to determine what the ticket requirements or reservation process is. You can also get costs at this time. Additionally, you may be able to get specials for your groups. For example, at some UNI athletic events, if you hold a “Blank” Hall night, members of your group may be selected to participate in some of the giveaways and your group will get recognized at the game or match.

3. Talk to your RA or the Residence Life Coordinator once you have this information. They will talk to you about the easiest way to arrange for committed participants whether it is a sign up in house bathrooms or in the hall office. Also, talk about funding for the event and whether ticket or admission costs will be paid by the participants or from some other fund.

4. Advertise the program. Again, consider a variety of options that will spark interest, not just a boring old sign!!

5. Collect the money (if applicable). Order the tickets based with this knowledge.

6. Go to the event and have fun!

ORGANIZING EVENTS IN CEDAR FALLS / WATERLOO

Now that you have experience planning events, think about using all that the Cedar Valley has to offer. There are SO many options in this area that is impossible to list them all out. However, there is one great resource that you can utilize to check on things to do. It is the “Paint the Town Purple," found here. Again, things to think about include the following:

1. Think about what you would like to do based on things you have seen or things you like to do. If you are interested in the program, you will enthusiastically press on no matter what the problems are that may arise! Again, use the above resources for ideas.

2. Call or e-mail the sponsoring organization to determine what the ticket requirements or reservation process is. You can also get costs at this time. Additionally, you may be able to get specials for your groups.

3. Talk to your Residence Life Coordinator. Check with them to make sure that the date and time that you would like to hold the program does not conflict with something else going on in the building. During this conversation, ask the coordinator about any things that may deal with policies or liability due to you leaving the campus. Things may include:

a. Liability – talking to Tim McKenna, university lawyer, is important. This is especially true if residents will be driving their own vehicles.

b. Policies – many times there is alcohol served at off campus events. Due to the program being organized by the university, or you acting as a representative of the university, no alcohol will be allowed to be consumed, even if the participants are of age.

c. Other Concerns – just ask them if they have any other thoughts or concerns about the event whether from their past experience or things that they have seen or heard. Too

much information is always better than not enough!

4. Make all the pre-arrangements. If this is something that does not take a great deal of set up – great! However, think through everything early. It is like writing for the newspaper:

a. Who would you like to attend? Do not exclude anyone; however, don’t also assume that everyone will participate. Also, make sure that you advertise your program. A simple sign may not work – consider e-mail, facebook, a chalk outline on the floor with the program information on the inside. Think about what would make you stop and take a look, then do it!

b. When will it be? You also answered this in the third step.

c. Where will it be? Do you need to reserve this spot through anyone or get tickets? How will you get there?

d. What will it be? It will be important to determine how you will get the money or commitment if tickets are involved.

e. Why? This may seem unimportant, but it is good to think about; however, the answer may just be – TO HAVE FUN!

5. On the day of the program, just go through one final check to make sure that everything is ready.

6. The program is here – enjoy it! Organize everyone to get there and enjoy themselves.

7. After you are done, make sure that you clean up any messes that may have been caused by the program. Then evaluate what you have done, give yourself a pat on the back, and

consider writing the program up for a Panther Pride Award!

ORGANIZING EVENTS IN THE MIDWEST

Sometimes even the many options that Cedar Falls or Waterloo have to offer are simply not enough. Thus, it is time to ‘Get outta here!” â˜º In order to do that, the planning is very similar to planning for an off-campus program in the Cedar Valley with a few subtle twists. Read on:

1. Think about what you would like to do based on things you have seen or things you like to do. Things may include trips to Mall of America, CUBS games, Six Flags, etc.

2. Call or e-mail the organization or place to determine what the ticket requirements or reservation process is. You can also get costs at this time. Additionally, you may be able to get specials for your groups.

3. Talk to your Residence Life Coordinator. Check with them to make sure that the date and time that you would like to hold the program does not conflict with something else going on in the building. During this conversation, ask the coordinator about any things that may deal with policies or liability due to you leaving the campus. Things may include:

a. Liability – talking to Tim McKenna, university lawyer, is important. This is especially true if residents will be driving their own vehicles.

b. Policies – many times there is alcohol served at off campus events. Due to the program being organized by the university, or you acting as a representative of the university, no alcohol will be allowed to be consumed, even if the participants are of age.

c. Overnight – due to the fact that a trip more than three or four hours away may result in an overnight stay, a discussion about expectations in the hotel should occur. This includes room assignments, making sure that the hotel is aware that a group of college students will be staying with them, and any pertinent policies.

d. Other Concerns – just ask them if they have any other thoughts or concerns about the event whether from their past experience or things that they have seen or heard. Too much information is always better than not enough!

4. Make all the pre-arrangements. Again, it is like writing for the newspaper:

a. Who would you like to attend? Do not exclude anyone; however, don’t also assume that everyone will participate. Also, make sure that you advertise your program. A simple sign may not work – consider e-mail, facebook, a chalk outline on the floor with the program information on the inside. Think about what would make you stop and take a look, then do it!

b. When will it be? You also answered this in the third step.

c. Where will it be? Do you need to reserve this spot through anyone or get tickets? How will you get there? If you are considering a long trip, look at bus companies as well. There are many in the Cedar Valley; however, one that has been of particular value to me is Northwest Iowa Transportation – (319) 236-0621.

d. What will it be? It will be important to determine how you will get the money or commitment if tickets are involved.

e. Why? This may seem unimportant, but it is good to think about; however, the answer may just be – TO HAVE FUN!

5. On the day of the program, just go through one final check to make sure that everything is ready.

6. The program is here – enjoy it! Organize everyone to get there and enjoy themselves.

7. After you are done, make sure that you clean up any messes that may have been caused by the program. Then evaluate what you have done, give yourself a pat on the back, and consider writing the program up for a Panther Pride Award!

NOW YOU KNOW HOW TO HAVE FUN AND ENJOY ALL THAT THE CEDAR VALLEY HAS TO OFFER –